Close-up portrait of Huli wigman with painted face before a sing-sing performance, Tari Valley, Papua New Guinea
The Huli are an indigenous people who live in the Hela Province of Papua New Guinea. They speak primarily Huli and Tok Pisin; many also speak some of the surrounding languages, and some also speak English. They are one of the largest cultural groups in Papua New Guinea, numbering over 250,000 people (based on the population of Hela of 249,449 at the time of the 2011 national census). There is every indication the Huli have lived in their region for many thousands of years and recount lengthy oral histories relating to individuals and their clans. They were extensive travellers (predominantly for trade) in both the highlands and lowlands surrounding their homeland, particularly to the south. The Huli were not known to Europeans until November 1934, when at least fifty of them were killed by the Fox brothers, two adventurers unsuccessfully looking for gold who had just parted with the more famous explorers Mick and Dan Leahy. A sing-sing is a gathering of a few tribes or villages in Papua New Guinea. People arrive to show their distinct culture, dance and music. The aim of these gatherings is to peacefully share traditions as each ethnic group of island have their own dance. Villagers paint and decorate themselves for sing-sings which they only have once a year.
Size: 4016px × 6016px
Location: Hedemari Catholic Church, Papua Nuova Guinea
Photo credit: © Roberto Cornacchia / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: body, clan, clans, commonwealth, communities, community, cultural, culturally, customary, dance, dancer, dancing, diverse, event, face, feathers, group, guinea, hair, headdress, hela, highlands, huli, human, indigenous, land, languages, minorities, ocean, oceania, oceanian, oral, painting, papua, people, performance, pisin, province, show, sing-sing, tari, tok, uncontacted, valley, wig, wigman, wigmen, wigs
